Most apps and books assume access comes naturally.For some learners, access is where the work begins.

I've tried to make apps and books where access is easier — with less clutter, clearer choices, simpler interactions, and more ways to participate. Try one. Let me know what you think. — Jim

Explore the Apps Where Do I Start?

Same fun.
Just simpler!

POW!Too many choices.

SMASH!Tiny buttons.

BLAM!Visual clutter.

Let's make it
simple again.

Wonder Button

Music, choices, media, voices, sounds and more... one simple family.

Why Wonder Button?

Most websites and apps assume people can navigate menus, find small controls, follow changing layouts, and sort through several choices at once.

Wonder Button is designed for learners who need a simpler way in. An adult sets up the content; the learner gets large, clear choices and simple ways to play, choose, listen, watch or communicate.

The same activity can be reached in different ways, so it stays familiar as the learner's skills and needs change.

Less on the screen.

Clearer ways to choose.

More ways to participate.

Wonder Button Players

Pick what you want to do. Then pick the easiest way in.

The adult sets it up.
The learner chooses.

① Choose a player

Music Player

Favorite music. A simpler way to choose and play.

Their music. Their choice.

Try Music Player

② Choose how to access it

iChoose4 Easy Access

Four ways in, across Wonder Button Players.

One Button
Next / Go
Direct Touch
Swipe + Touch

Learn about iChoose4

Ready-to-go playlists

Make your own

Wonder Button Songs & Stories screenshot: For CVI & early looking

Choice

Simpler displays. Larger targets.

How could I use these?A few simple ideas for home, school, therapy, and shared activities.

Songs & Stories

Shared songs and read-alouds
Early looking activities
Familiar routines and repetition

Visual Sensory Mix

Visual attention
Quiet sensory breaks
Tracking color, light, and movement

Web Player

Simplify favorite online videos
Create small video collections
Give learners easier video control

Media

Personal photo and video collections
Simple multimedia activities
Combine pictures, music, and video

Gallery

Personal photo stories
First / Next routines
Activity schedules or picture calendars
Familiar people and places

Audio

Recorded stories
Family voices and messages
Environmental sounds
Listening and sound-identification activities

Voice

Record and play messages
Turn-taking activities
Simple participation and communication
Familiar spoken prompts

Choice

Yes / No choices
Pick an activity
Choose between preferred items
Simple classroom or home participation

More activities and lesson ideas are being developed.

Explore Wonder Button

Made for visual simplicity.

Quick Field Rule: Dim the lights. Cut the clutter. Give plenty of time to look.

More from the Lab.

Picture books, stories, cause and effect, and more...

Why LOOK Books are different

LOOK Books start somewhere simpler.

They are designed for learners who may need fewer things to look at, stronger contrast, clearer targets, slower pacing, and more time to make sense of what they see.

The goal is not simply to make pictures brighter or bigger. It is to make the visual information easier to find, notice, follow, and understand.

LOOK Books are built around a few simple ideas:

Less visual clutter, so important pictures are easier to find.
Strong contrast and clear targets, to help important features stand out.
Controlled movement and pacing, so the screen does not race ahead.
Meaningful, familiar content, to help connect looking with recognition and understanding.
Flexible interaction, so a book can be watched passively, advanced with touch, or explored more actively when appropriate.

Some LOOK Books begin with a single object on a dark background. Others gradually introduce more detail, movement, context, or interaction as the learner is ready for it.

I've also tried to make them inclusive enough to share. A book designed around the visual needs of one learner should still be interesting, enjoyable, and worth looking at with a sibling, classmate, parent, teacher, or friend.

The simplicity is there to make access easier, not to make the experience smaller.

A clearer place to look, and something worth sharing once you get there.

NOTICE & ATTEND

LOOK Books

One thing at a time.

Picture books built for looking: clean targets, black backgrounds, nothing competing for attention.

A look inside:

Explore LOOK Books

SHARE & SEQUENCE

LOOK Stories

Simple visual stories to share.

Predictable pacing, uncluttered scenes and shared attention. Sometimes the whole activity is: ‘There it is!’

A look inside:

Explore LOOK Stories

ACT & TOUCH

Spark

Now make something happen.

Touch it: music, fireworks, bubbles and more. Cause and effect for participation, agency and joy.

A look inside:

Explore Spark

PRACTICE & CONNECT

Practice Lab

Tried-and-true ideas, rebuilt as simple tools.

Familiar teaching ideas, made a little easier — and hopefully a little more fun — with experience stories, object-to-picture activities, step-by-step routines, and turn-taking play.

Inspired by approaches shared by Perkins, Paths to Literacy, TEACCH and others.

A look inside:

Explore Practice Lab

Glow Stories

INTENTIONAL COMPLEXITY

When learners are ready for more than isolated targets, Glow Stories introduce layered scenes where objects hide in context, supporting search, scanning, and visual discrimination.

They're also a place for me to experiment with storytelling, interaction, activities, and different levels of visual complexity without losing the simplicity underneath.

Explore Glow Stories

Try one and let me know what works, what doesn't, and what you'd change.

On the Lab Table

Other apps and developing ideas on the lab table.

Still tinkering.

Questionable Apps

Oddities, tests, and pure play. Because our kids deserve choices across the whole spectrum, not just therapy.

Not everything needs a lesson.

Giggle Baby See the Lab Table

More Than Apps

“The screen is only part of the idea.”

Activities, guides and ideas for taking what happens on the screen a little further.

How to UseSimple guides and tips for getting started.ActivitiesHands-on and off-screen ideas to extend learning.Lesson PlansPractical ideas for real learning moments.

Flash beside a hand-drawn contraption labelled Flash's Activity Generator

Not sure what to try?

Let Flash's Activity Generator suggest an app, story, or hands-on idea based on where your learner is today.

Try the Activity Generator

Why I made this.

In my 30 years of working with children and adults with visual impairments and complex needs, I watched technology transform access for people with disabilities and learners of all kinds, making information, books, communication, entertainment, and participation possible in ways that once seemed out of reach.

But as the technology became more powerful, it also became more complicated. For many of my students with CVI and complex needs, that progress seemed to pass them by. The devices could do extraordinary things, but there were surprisingly few tools for learners who needed something much simpler: less clutter, clearer targets, fewer choices, more time to look, and an easier way to participate.

That always struck me as a missed opportunity, because screens also offered exactly the things that could help: light, contrast, adjustable size, sound, repetition, movement, shared experiences, and the ability to change as a learner’s skills and interests grew.

These were the kinds of tools I wanted when I was working with my students, so I started making some myself.

One simple app led to another, and eventually, apparently, you need a whole website for that.

More About the Project

Thanks for being here.
— Jim ♡

How’d it go?

Tried something with a learner? I’d love to hear what happened.

Worked well?
Too fast?
Too busy?
Too boring?
Didn’t work at all?
Something you’d change?

Tell Me What Happened

Especially if it flopped. That helps too.

Thanks for being here. — Jim ♡